Tag: History of Classical Music

Overview

The Twelve Studies in All the Minor Keys, Op. 39, by Charles-Valentin Alkan, form a monumental cycle for solo piano, composed between 1846 and 1847. It is one of the most ambitious works for piano of the 19th century, both in terms of its extreme technical difficulty and its musical richness and daring conception. These studies are organised into two suites, each containing six studies, covering the twelve minor keys in succession (hence the title).

🌑 Overview of the work: Twelve Studies in All Minor Keys, Op. 39
Date of composition: 1846–1847

Publication: 1857

Number of pieces: 12

Total duration: approximately 90 minutes

Difficulty: Extreme virtuosity (Liszt, Godowsky, Rachmaninoff level)

Structure: Two suites of six études each

Purpose: Technical, musical and expressive études covering every minor key in the cycle of fifths

🧩 Structure of the two suites

🎴 Suite I (Etudes Nos. 1 to 6)

This first suite emphasises technique, with a variety of styles ranging from motoric energy to counterpoint.

No. 1 – Comme le vent (C minor)

Whirling virtuosity, comparable to Chopin or Liszt.

The title evokes an irresistible breath or whirlwind.

Uses rapid, agitated motifs in sixteenth notes.

No. 2 – En rythme molossique (C sharp minor)

Obstinate, hammering rhythm.

Imposing and severe, evoking an ancient ritual or a war march.

No. 3 – Scherzo diabolico (D minor)

A kind of demonic ‘Scherzo’, very fast and sneering.

Reminiscent of the sardonic passages of Liszt or Prokofiev.

No. 4 – The Four Ages (E flat minor)

A mini-suite in four sections, representing:

Childhood

Youth

Middle age

Old age

Ambitious, almost a musical narrative.

No. 5 – Prometheus Bound (E minor)

Tragic, heroic and sombre.

Represents the suffering and rebellion of the Greek titan Prometheus.

Dense writing, powerful chords, dramatic chromaticism.

No. 6 – The Railway (F minor)

One of Alkan’s most famous works.

Evokes the rapid, repetitive movement of a steam train.

A precursor to ‘musical futurism’, typically mechanised.

🎴 Suite II (Etudes Nos. 7 to 12)

This suite offers an ascent to the summit: it contains a sonata, a concerto for solo piano, and a symphony for solo piano.

Nos. 7 to 9 – Symphony for solo piano (F sharp minor to B minor)

Regroups three études in symphonic form:

Allegro moderato (F sharp minor) – Solemn introduction.

Funeral March (A minor) – Funereal and noble.

Minuet (G sharp minor) – Elegant but tense.

Finale (B minor) – Final storm, increasing intensity.

A unique achievement in the history of the piano.

Nos. 10 to 12 – Concerto for solo piano (C minor to A minor)

Three studies that form an imaginary concerto:

I. Allegro assai (C minor) – Monumental toccata.

II. Adagio (F minor) – Meditative, lyrical.

III. Allegretto alla barbaresca (A minor) – Oriental colour, wild.

This ‘concerto without orchestra’ makes full use of pianistic textures to simulate tutti and dialogues.

🎼 General remarks

Exploration of all the colours of the piano, from the fastest passages to orchestral textures.

Alkan combines form, counterpoint, virtuosity and narration, while pushing the physical limits of the instrument.

Comparable to Liszt, Beethoven and Bach in ambition and density.

Very rarely performed in their entirety, but regularly studied by the greatest pianists.

🎹 Some notable pianists associated with these studies

Raymond Lewenthal

Marc-André Hamelin

Jack Gibbons

Laurent Martin

Ronald Smith

Characteristics of the music

Charles-Valentin Alkan’s collection Twelve Studies in All Minor Keys, Op. 39 is an exceptional cyclical work that combines musical, technical and intellectual ambition rarely achieved in the history of the piano. Beyond its extreme virtuosity, it presents a unified vision that transcends a simple series of studies to form a coherent and powerfully expressive whole.

Here are the major musical characteristics of this collection, looking at the collection as a whole, then each suite (I & II), and finally the internal compositions such as the Symphony and the Concerto for solo piano.

🧩 1. General characteristics of the Op. 39 collection

🎼 a. Exploration of the twelve minor keys

Each study is in a different minor key, following a descending chromatic cycle (from C minor to A minor).

This is reminiscent of Bach (The Well-Tempered Clavier) or Chopin (Preludes), but applied here to long forms and an exaggerated Romantic style.

🧠 b. Thematic and formal cycle

This is less a collection than a unified cycle, in which the pieces interact through contrast and dramatic progression.

Each study functions as an independent work, but the transitions are carefully calculated.

🔥 c. Transcendent virtuosity

Alkan pushes the limits of piano playing:

Rapid, uninterrupted passages

Gigantic leaps

Writing in double notes, thirds, octaves, massive chords

Use of the piano as an orchestra

But this virtuosity is never gratuitous: it serves an expressive, dramatic and intellectual content.

🎭 d. Highly varied characters

Humour (Scherzo diabolico, Chemin de fer)

Tragedy (Prométhée, Symphonie)

Nostalgia and philosophy (Les quatre âges)

Epic (Concerto, Symphonie)

🎻 e. Orchestralisation of the piano

Alkan recreates orchestral textures on the piano alone:

Double basses and timpani in the bass

Divide strings or winds in the middle and high registers

Broad forms and contrapuntal development

🎴 2. Characteristics of the First Suite (Etudes 1 to 6)

This suite emphasises technical exploration while maintaining great expressiveness. It can be seen as a gallery of characters:

No. Title Key Main characteristic

1 Comme le vent (Like the wind) C minor Fast and fluid virtuosity, moto perpetuo style
2 En rythme molossique (In molossian rhythm) C sharp minor Rhythmic ostinato, heavy and grave
3 Scherzo diabolico (Diabolical scherzo) D minor Irony, sneering, infernal presto tempo
4 The Four Ages E flat minor Programmatic structure in four tableaux
5 Prometheus Bound E minor Tragedy, heavy chords, chromaticism, heroic figuration
6 The Railway F minor Mechanical imitation of a train, study in repetition and endurance

This suite could be considered a study of short form, although some pieces are extended and quasi-narrative.

🎴 3. Characteristics of the Second Suite (Etudes 7 to 12)

The second suite takes on a monumental dimension, bringing together two internal cycles: a symphony and a concerto for solo piano. This makes it an unprecedented innovation in Romantic piano music.

🏛️ a. Studies 7 to 10 – ‘Symphony for solo piano’

Alkan explicitly indicates this subtitle. It is a transposition of orchestral forms into a pianistic language.

I. Allegro moderato (F sharp minor): Dramatic momentum, dense writing, sonata structure.

II. Funeral March (A minor): Tragic but noble, a Beethoven-style march.

III. Minuet (G sharp minor): Tense elegance, rich in modulations.

IV. Finale (B minor): Flamboyant virtuosity, growing tension.

💡 This symphony demonstrates how Alkan thought of the piano as an orchestra in its own right.

🎹 b. Études 10 to 12 – ‘Concerto for solo piano’

Another major innovation: a concerto without an orchestra, but designed with all the characteristics of a Romantic concerto.

I. Allegro assai (C minor): Long exposition movement, dense development, simulated tutti.

II. Adagio (F minor): Introspective lyricism, inner voices and intimate expressiveness.

III. Allegretto alla barbaresca (A minor): Oriental colours, rhythmic wildness, rhapsodic intensity.

🎯 Here, the piano becomes both its own orchestra and its own soloist.

🧠 4. Philosophical and artistic vision

Op. 39 is not limited to studies: it is a journey through the human soul, the contrasts of destiny, heroic solitude and modernity.

It anticipates Mahler in its formal scope, Liszt in its transcendence, and even Debussy in certain harmonic audacities.

🎬 Conclusion

Charles-Valentin Alkan’s Op. 39 is a visionary work, a kind of romantic summit of the piano, combining the most demanding technique with boundless artistic ambition.

It embodies:

A synthesis of classical forms (symphony, concerto, suite),

An exploration of the physical limits of the piano,

An expressive, dramatic, tragic and often ironic quest,

A striking modernity for its time.

Analysis, tutorial, interpretation and important points for playing

Here is a complete analysis, an interpretative tutorial and important points for playing all of Charles-Valentin Alkan’s Twelve Studies in All Minor Keys, Op. 39. The work is divided into two large suites: the first contains character pieces, the second contains a Symphony and a Concerto for solo piano, forming a masterful triptych. The work as a whole requires transcendent technique, structural intelligence and extreme sonic imagination.

🎴 First Suite – Studies 1 to 6: Characters, contrasts, portraits

🎼 Study No. 1 – Comme le vent (in C minor)

Analysis:

A moto perpetuo in sixteenth notes, evoking the wind, the momentum of nature.

A-B-A’ form, with harmonic contrasts and intense modulations.

Interpretation & tutorial:

Light, non-percussive sound, à la Liszt: imagine a breeze.

Finger control: evenness, lightness, relaxation.

Work with separate hands, slowly at first, with a metronome.

Technical points:

Finger endurance.

Fast detachés.

Airy staccato with the fingers.

🥁 Study No. 2 – En rythme molossique (C sharp minor)

Analysis:

Heavy accentuation, triple rhythm (long-long-short).

An almost martial ostinato, repetitive and oppressive structure.

Interpretation:

Rhythmic insistence, but without stiffness.

Seek a noble vehemence, almost Beethovenian.

To work on:

Endurance in the chords.

Regular playing in the heavy articulations.

Contrast of dynamics within a uniform structure.

🤡 Study No. 3 – Scherzo diabolico (D minor)

Analysis:

Scherzo in the tradition of the ‘laughing devil’, close to Liszt or Berlioz.

Alternating rapid and syncopated figures, jarring harmony.

Interpretation:

Fast tempo, but always controlled.

Accentuate sudden dynamic contrasts.

To watch out for:

Clarity in fast passages.

Rhythmic accuracy in transitions.

Don’t rush: play forward without losing the line.

👴 Etude No. 4 – Les quatre âges (E flat minor)

Analysis:

Programme piece: childhood, youth, maturity, old age.

Almost a sonata in four movements.

Performance:

Each section has its own character: think of a theatrical role.

Vary the articulation, touch and pedalling.

Key points:

Transitions between sections.

Continuous narration.

Expressive coherence.

🔥 Study No. 5 – Prometheus Bound (E minor)

Analysis:

Mythological tragedy, similar to Beethoven or Liszt.

Massive chords, expressive melodic line in the centre.

Interpretation:

Great heroic breath.

Play the harmonic tensions, not just the notes.

Tips:

Work on harmony (inner voices!).

Balance octaves and chords (avoid harshness).

Use the pedal as a dramatic link, not to blur.

🚂 Study No. 6 – The Railway (F minor)

Analysis:

A spectacular imitation of a train: ostinato, repetitions, accelerations.

Simple form but strong rhythmic impression.

Interpretation:

Fluid tempo, mechanical but never rigid.

Play with the acceleration (like a train starting up).

Technical tips:

Independence of the hands (bass ostinato).

Clear articulation.

Synchronisation and endurance.

🏛 Second Suite – Studies 7 to 12: Large orchestral forms

🎻 Studies 7 to 10 – Symphony for solo piano

No. 7 – Allegro Moderato (F sharp minor)
Structure: sonata form.

Strongly contrasting themes.

Orchestral development.

Tips:

Articulate the themes as orchestral sections.

Work on the polyphony of the secondary voices.

No. 8 – Funeral March (A minor)

Solemnity, gravity, dense counterpoint.

Similar to Chopin, but more architectural.

Interpretation:

Do not play slowly, but majestically.

Deep bass voices, full touch, but never dry.

No. 9 – Minuet (G♯ minor)

Elegant but harmonically twisted.

Contrasting trio, subtle rhythm.

Work:

Elegance of ornamentation.

Metrical regularity.

Flexible use of rubato in a classical setting.

No. 10 – Finale (B minor)

Dazzling virtuosity with continuous dynamics.

Cyclical theme in the coda.

Keys to interpretation:

Clarity within density.

Well-planned nuances.

Slow work + in segments.

🎹 Studies 11 to 13 – Concerto for solo piano

No. 11 – Allegro Assai (C minor)

Extensive concertante movement (~30 min!).

Alternating tutti and soli recreated by the solo piano.

Technically:

Very demanding: stamina, clarity, structure.

Plan the phrasing as a dialogue between orchestra and soloist.

No. 12 – Adagio (F minor)

Lyrical, intimate, veiled.

Modulating and ambiguous harmony.

Interpretation:

Inner voice.

Expressive middle voice.

Subtle pedal, never heavy.

No. 13 – Allegretto alla barbaresca (A minor)

Rhapsodic, wild, exotic colours.

Mix of styles: orientalism, dance, improvisation.

To work on:

Rhythm: irregular metre, barbaric but controlled.

Harmonic colours and irregular accents.

Expressive use of silences and syncopation.

🎹 General tips for playing Op. 39

✅ Technique
Work very slowly with a metronome at first.

Isolate each hand separately.

Study the inner voices and harmonic textures.

Manage your stamina (long piece).

✅ Pedal
Use subtly: avoid excess in complex passages.

Partial pedal and harmonic pedal recommended (for modern piano).

✅ Interpretation
Constant narration: even the most abstract studies tell a story.

Think in layers of sound like a conductor.

Seek to characterise each piece: do not play them all in the same style.

History

The history of Charles-Valentin Alkan’s Twelve Studies in All the Minor Keys, Op. 39 is deeply linked to the mysterious, marginal but extraordinarily innovative figure of the composer himself. Published in Paris in 1857, these études are one of the high points of Romantic piano music. However, they remained in obscurity for many years, ignored by the general public, before being rediscovered in the 20th century by adventurous pianists such as Raymond Lewenthal, Ronald Smith and Marc-André Hamelin.

Alkan, a virtuoso pianist and eccentric composer, lived in Paris at the same time as Chopin and Liszt, with whom he was close. But unlike them, he withdrew from public life for long periods. During these years of silence, he devoted himself to a radically ambitious project: to construct a cycle of études that would not only cover all twelve minor keys, but also push the boundaries of the solo instrument. Opus 39 was the answer to this ambition.

This is not a simple collection of études: it is a pianistic monument, at once an encyclopaedia of Romantic styles, a laboratory of forms and a cathedral of sound for solo piano. Alkan develops three major ideas:

The expressive miniature (as in ‘Comme le vent’, ‘Scherzo diabolico’ and ‘Le chemin de fer’),

The grand orchestral form (Symphony for Piano, Nos. 7 to 10),

The solo concertante form (Concerto for Solo Piano, Nos. 11 to 13).

This project to cover all the minor keys was inspired by an idea of order and completion: a kind of musical cosmology that would echo Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier or Chopin’s great series of études, but with a dramatic romantic tension and an even more extreme formal ambition.

The idea of composing a symphony and a concerto for solo piano, without orchestra, is perhaps the most revolutionary aspect of the cycle. Alkan attempts the impossible here: simulating the entire orchestration within the pianist’s ten fingers, inventing a polyphonic, massive but always legible style of writing – provided one has the technique to master it.

But why were these works ignored for so long? First, their technical difficulty is superhuman, even for virtuosos. Second, Alkan’s own personality, solitary and sometimes misanthropic, contributed to their marginalisation. He hardly ever played in public. He published little. His work was considered strange, too complex, too ahead of its time.

It was only in the second half of the 20th century, with the emergence of a generation of pianist-curators, that the Op. 39 cycle began to be rediscovered. People began to appreciate its originality, its audacity and its refinement. It was not simply a technical exercise. It was an absolute declaration of love for the piano, a treatise on composition, a utopian vision of what a single instrument could be, containing a whole world.

Today, Opus 39 is recognised as one of the pinnacles of the Romantic repertoire – alongside Chopin’s Études, Liszt’s Transcendental Études and Scriabin’s late works. But it retains a special aura: that of a secret revealed too late, a masterpiece that the world was not yet ready to hear. And when a pianist tackles it, they are not just playing music: they are entering into a profound dialogue with a forgotten genius who dreamed that the piano alone could make an entire orchestra, an entire drama, an entire world tremble.

Impacts & Influences

Charles-Valentin Alkan’s Twelve Studies in All the Minor Keys, Op. 39 had a singular but fundamental impact on the history of piano music. Long marginalised, they are now recognised as a visionary work, whose influences were felt both late and indirectly, but with a power that continues to grow.

💥 An aesthetic shock ahead of its time

When the work was published in 1857, the musical world was not ready for such a dense, radical cycle. At a time when audiences were applauding the lyrical elegance of Chopin and the theatrical brilliance of Liszt, Alkan offered music that was introspective and cerebral, but also of unprecedented sonic violence. He did not imitate the orchestra: he absorbed it into the keyboard. This was disconcerting. The aesthetic shock was too far ahead of its time. The immediate impact on his contemporaries was therefore almost nil. But like many marginal geniuses, the echo of his work would come much later, like a delayed shock wave.

🎹 The elevation of piano writing

One of Alkan’s most important contributions with Op. 39 is to have redefined what a piano can do on its own. He pushes the instrument to its physical and expressive limits:

Dense polyphony with several independent voices,

Imitation or superimposition of orchestral registers,

simultaneous use of the highest and lowest registers,

and the fusion of symphonic or concertante form with piano writing.

These innovations would later influence Busoni’s virtuosity, Medtner’s dramatic polyphony, Rachmaninov’s piano-orchestra, and Sorabji’s dense, cyclical writing.

🎼 An underground but fertile influence

In the 20th century, when pianists rediscovered Alkan, they suddenly saw him as a missing link between Liszt, Brahms and the modernists:

Ronald Smith, in his writings and recordings, described Alkan as an isolated genius, but fundamental to understanding the evolution of piano technique.

Ferruccio Busoni, who was familiar with Alkan’s works, drew inspiration from his idea of the ‘piano-orchestra’ in his Fantasia contrappuntistica and his own transcriptions.

Kaikhosru Sorabji, in his monstrously complex works, saw Alkan as a pioneer of the excessive piano form.

🎧 Rehabilitation in the 20th century: a new school of pianists

With the rehabilitation of the forgotten Romantic repertoire from the 1960s onwards, the Études Op. 39 became a rite of passage for great exploratory pianists. The work became a challenge but also a reflection on the possibilities of the keyboard. It can be seen as anticipating:

Scriabin’s piano symphony (Sonata No. 5),

The idea of a total solo piano, dear to Sorabji, Godowsky and Hamelin,

An architectural, sometimes almost mathematical style of writing, heralding Messiaen and Ligeti.

🎭 Impact on the vision of the piano as an inner theatre

Finally, Alkan’s impact is not only technical. It is philosophical and dramatic. His works — and Op. 39 in particular — give the piano a tragic and metaphysical dimension. The keyboard becomes a space where human passions, cataclysms, illusions, loneliness, faith and delirium clash — all without words, without orchestra, without artifice.

📌 In summary

The influence of Opus 39 is that of a discreet but decisive leaven. The work did not change the music of its time, but it opened up avenues that others followed, often without even knowing Alkan. It belongs to those musical monuments that wait for time to catch up with them. Today, it inspires pianists, composers and theorists because it offers an absolute, excessive, total vision of the piano — an art in which the instrument becomes orchestrator, narrator, demiurge.

Was it a successful piece or collection at the time?

No, Charles-Valentin Alkan’s Twelve Studies in All the Minor Keys, Op. 39 were not a success in their day – neither with the public nor commercially. They received virtually no attention when they were published in 1857. Here’s why:

🎭 1. A work too complex for the audience of the time

During the Romantic period, audiences – even educated ones – preferred more immediately accessible, melodious and emotional works, such as those by Chopin, Mendelssohn and Liszt. Alkan’s Op. 39, however, is a work of extreme intellectualism and virtuosity, whose form – symphony and concerto for solo piano – completely baffled listeners.

Even top pianists were intimidated. These études are among the most difficult in the piano repertoire, not only technically but also structurally. They required orchestral vision, physical stamina and architectural intelligence rarely found in a single performer.

📉 2. Very limited distribution

Alkan hardly ever performed his own works in public. He had largely withdrawn from the music scene by 1853. Unlike Liszt or Chopin, who actively promoted their music in concert, Alkan was solitary, discreet, even reclusive. As a result, without regular public performances, Opus 39 remained invisible to the public.

Consequently, there was no strong demand for the score, which did not sell well. Publishers printed few copies, and several of Alkan’s works remained out of print or difficult to find until the second half of the 20th century.

📰 3. Few reviews, little recognition

The Parisian music press of the time—which often praised Liszt or Chopin—largely ignored Alkan. He was not a socialite. He no longer participated in salons. His self-imposed isolation distanced him from influential circles. Apart from a few occasional rave reviews (often from friends such as Liszt), Op. 39 did not attract much attention.

📚 4. Posthumous success

It was not until the 1960s and 1980s that Alkan was rediscovered thanks to pianists such as:

Raymond Lewenthal

Ronald Smith

Marc-André Hamelin

These musicians began to perform, record and publish Op. 39, which gradually became a highlight of the forgotten Romantic repertoire. Today, although still little known to the general public, Opus 39 is considered a work of absolute genius by musicians, analysts and pianists of the highest calibre.

✅ Conclusion

No, Twelve Etudes in All Minor Keys, Op. 39 was not a success when it was released. It was too difficult, too avant-garde, too isolated to find an audience in 1857. But today it has been rehabilitated as one of the most daring achievements in piano writing, a long-ignored masterpiece rediscovered at a time when its greatness can be fully appreciated.

Episodes and anecdotes

Here are some fascinating episodes and anecdotes surrounding Charles-Valentin Alkan’s Twelve Studies in All the Minor Keys, Op. 39, which shed light on the mystery of their creation, their reception, and their rediscovery many years later.

🎩 1. A composer in the shadow of the Synagogue

At the time of the publication of Op. 39 (1857), Alkan had virtually disappeared from public musical life. Although he had been one of the most acclaimed pianists of his generation in the 1830s, he had voluntarily withdrawn from the stage. According to some accounts, he spent this period studying the Talmud, and it is likely that he was briefly a substitute organist at the Great Synagogue in Paris.

It was therefore in this almost monastic solitude that these monumental works were created — as if a monk of the keyboard had secretly composed an inner symphony for a world that was not yet ready to hear it.

🎼 2. A symphony… without an orchestra, a concerto… without an orchestra

Op. 39 contains a Symphony for solo piano (Nos. 4 to 7) and a Concerto for solo piano (Nos. 8 to 10). This was surprising (even shocking) to musicians of the time: how could anyone imagine a concerto without an orchestra?

And yet Alkan pulled off this tour de force. Through the illusion of sound, he makes the listener believe that an entire orchestra is present. In the manuscript, he sometimes includes notes such as “tutti” or “solo”, as if he were actually writing for a piano accompanied… by itself. This gesture symbolises the intensity of his isolation and his solitary artistic ambition.

🖋️ 3. The Concerto of the Impossible: an anecdote from Liszt?

According to later accounts (notably that of Hans von Bülow), Franz Liszt, himself a legendary virtuoso, saw the score of the Concerto for Solo Piano (Nos. 8–10) and declared that ‘this is music that can never be played’. It is not certain that the quote is authentic, but it certainly reflects the reputation for unplayability that these pages have acquired.

Today, pianists such as Marc-André Hamelin and Jack Gibbons are proving the opposite — but the myth remains.

📚 4. Rediscovered thanks to eccentric enthusiasts

Until the 1960s, the scores of Op. 39 were almost impossible to find. It was Raymond Lewenthal, an eccentric American pianist with a passion for forgotten repertoire, who set out to hunt down manuscripts and original editions in libraries across Europe in order to reconstruct the work.

On his return, he gave an Alkan recital in New York that was a major musical event, launching an ‘Alkan renaissance’. For over a century, these études were little more than legends whispered among specialists – until daring pianists brought them back to life.

🧤 5. An étude nicknamed ‘God’s sewing machine’

Étude No. 8 (Concerto for solo piano, 1st movement) is so fast, so regular, so mechanical in certain sections that a critic once nicknamed it ‘God’s sewing machine’ — humorously, but also with admiration for the precision and brute force required.

This nickname illustrates the mixture of irony and reverence that Alkan inspires: he is at once superhuman, mechanical, abstract, and yet deeply expressive.

🧘‍♂️ 6. A philosophical message in the cycle?

Some musicians, such as Ronald Smith, see in the overall architecture of Op. 39 a kind of inner drama, almost a metaphysical confession:

The cycle begins with dark visions (Comme le vent, En rythme molossique),

builds to a grandiose symphony,

then culminates in a titanic concerto,

ending in silence and solitude with Étude No. 12: Le festin d’Ésope, a series of grotesque, animalistic and sometimes jarring variations — like a party at the end of the world.

This narrative suggests a cyclical view of the human condition, and some see it as a mystical or even spiritual allegory.

🎬 Conclusion

The Twelve Etudes in All Minor Keys, Op. 39, are not just difficult pieces. They are surrounded by mysterious anecdotes, piano legends and silent artistic dramas. They embody the figure of the misunderstood genius, the solitary creator ahead of his time, and today they continue to fuel the fascination, admiration and challenge of all those who approach them.

Similar compositions

Here are several compositions or cycles similar to Charles-Valentin Alkan’s Twelve Studies in All Minor Keys, Op. 39, due to their pianistic ambition, cyclical form, exploration of tonalities or their symphonic and experimental nature:

Franz Liszt – Transcendental Études, S.139
A cycle of twelve studies of formidable difficulty, with poetic and symphonic ambitions, representing the elevation of the study to an autonomous art form.

Frédéric Chopin – Études, Op. 10 and Op. 25
Although more concise, these studies combine technical demands with musical depth. Here, Chopin established a model of artistic study that would influence Alkan.

Leopold Godowsky – Studies on Chopin’s Studies
A dizzying reinvention of Chopin’s studies, often in versions for left hand alone or in complex polyphonies. This collection rivals Alkan in terms of difficulty and inventiveness.

Kaikhosru Sorabji – Transcendental Studies
Following in the footsteps of Alkan and Busoni, Sorabji offers a rich, exuberant, sometimes excessive pianistic world with a highly personal language.

Claude Debussy – Twelve Études, CD 143
A series of late, modern études that explore every technical aspect of the piano in an analytical and often experimental manner, while remaining musical.

Leopold Godowsky – Passacaglia (44 variations, cadenza and fugue)
A monumental, intellectual and virtuosic work which, like some of Alkan’s études, uses an ancient form (the passacaglia) in a highly romantic setting.

Sergei Rachmaninoff – Études-Tableaux, Op. 33 and Op. 39
These works combine poetry, drama and virtuosity with an orchestral richness in the piano writing reminiscent of Alkan.

Ferruccio Busoni – Fantasia contrappuntistica
Although not a cycle of études, this monumental, dense, polyphonic and architecturally complex work is reminiscent of Alkan’s cycle in its scope.

Julius Reubke – Sonata on Psalm 94
Although not a study, this unique sonata, with its Lisztian power and quasi-symphonic scope, evokes Alkan’s density and drama.

Dmitri Shostakovich – 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87
Inspired by Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, this cycle covers all keys (major and minor), with a high level of contrapuntal and expressive demands.

Each of these works, in its own way, is part of a tradition of total piano playing, in which the keyboard becomes an orchestra, a dramatic stage, a technical laboratory and a mirror of the soul. Alkan occupies a unique place in this tradition, but he dialogues with all the great names of the keyboard.

(This article was generated by ChatGPT. And it’s just a reference document for discovering music you don’t know yet.)

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